No sigh of relief for Chidambaram; ball is on the court of CJI

With referring the plea for anticipatory bail for P Chidambaram to CJI Ranjan Gogoi, the senior congress leader and former Finance minister failed to get immediate relief from the Supreme Court. The Court after hearing the petition on Wednesday said it could not pass an order right away.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter for grant of interim protection from arrest till the case is heard by the apex court. A three-judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana sent the file of P Chidambaram’s plea to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to pass the order on the listing of the case. CJI Gogoi, however, had commenced hearing in the Ayodhya dispute case due to which Chidambaram’s counsel Sibal was unable to mention the matter before him for urgent hearing.

The Congress leader’s lawyers moved the apex court against Tuesday’s Delhi High Court order regarding cases filed by the CBI and the ED related to the alleged INX Media scam. Though Chidambaram’s lawyer argued that then finance minister granted approval to INX Media’s proposal in the “normal course of official business”, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the plea saying this is a case of money laundering of monumental magnitude.

A team of officers from the CBI and ED had visited Chidambaram’s posh Jor Bagh residence 3 times since yesterday to arrest him could not find him home. With the SC’s disapproval on the anticipatory bail, the stage has been set for the former Finance Minister to be arrested, reports say.

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